There is a need for efficiently measuring parameters of products in the field to produce product condition reports containing objective documentation of products after they have left the source of production and are in the field. Measuring product parameters is most efficiently accomplished using a pocket-size hand-held, battery-powered measurement instrument. The term “in the field” is used to describe locations other than the place of manufacture of the product.
The need for efficiently measuring parameters of products in the field arises from concerns about quality control, damage in distribution, use or storage and to effectively determine the condition of the product after usage.
Inspection of the coating thickness of used vehicles is illustrative of the need to inspect products after they have left the source of production and are in the field.
Measurement of the parameter of paint thickness on a large number of vehicles can aid paint shop quality control of a vehicle manufacturer because paint thickness measurements are taken only intermittently on the assembly line.
Measurement of paint thickness on a large number of older vehicles can also aid a paint manufacturer or vehicle manufacturer in determining how the paint holds up to UV and other environmental stresses.
Measurement of paint thickness on an individual vehicle can provide objective and repeatable information to prospective buyers on the condition of the paint. More specifically, paint thickness measurements can show that the vehicle's paint has been excessively buffed, that the vehicle has been repainted, that the vehicle has been in an accident, and that there is hidden body damage under the paint.
The selling of used vehicles is a multi-billion dollar industry. Determining the condition of used vehicles is a substantial element of that industry and is of value to over one million customers per month.
CarFax produces and sells vehicle history reports on individual vehicles. The reports are comprised of data gathered from insurance companies, state motor vehicle departments and other sources. AutoCheck is one of the competitors to CarFax, and is owned by Experian which on its web site states that its business “delivers information solutions to manufacturers, dealers, finance and insurance companies and consumers.” Experian further states “Annual sales are in excess of $3.8 billion.” For this discussion, these companies will be termed the Vehicle History Report Industry. Producing and selling vehicle history reports on the condition of individual vehicles is a very active and profitable field with intense competition between the major corporations involved.
A major limitation of vehicle condition reports comprised of data from insurance companies and motor vehicle departments is that such data is often incomplete. It does not list accidents or paint damage when an insurance company does not pay for the repair. As one example, private owners sometimes pay for repair of damage out of pocket to avoid increases in insurance rates. Additionally, large companies with fleets, rental car companies being one common example, often self-insure their vehicles. Damage to the millions of self-insured vehicles would not be listed in insurance company databases. Paint thickness measurements can identify prior damage on self-insured vehicles but the Vehicle History Report Industry does not include paint thickness measurements in its vehicle condition reports.
Due to the major limitation of CarFax and AutoCheck vehicle condition reports, professional buyers or consumers visually inspect millions of used vehicles. Millions of vehicles are driven or shipped by truck to auction sites where buyers can visually inspect them. The primary reason why buyers desire visual inspection is to determine the condition of the body and paint, and particularly to determine if the vehicle has been in an accident and repaired. The mechanical condition is of less concern because many of the cars at auctions are still under factory warranties. Although the condition of the interior can be adequately judged through photographs, the exterior paint and the potential body damage underneath the paint cannot be conclusively determined by means of photographs.
Professional buyers and consumers frequently use paint thickness gauges to determine the condition of the paint and body of individual vehicles. The major corporations that manufacture paint thickness gauges are Pro Motorcar Products, Elcometer, Delfesko and Automation (Nix). The majority of these corporations have now made paint thickness gauges specifically designed for vehicle paint inspection in the field. Chinese-made gauges have also entered the market.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,860 to Pfanstiehl (2000), the present applicant, disclosed a method for using a coating thickness gauge to inspect a vehicle and determine if there is hidden damage.
Pro Motorcar Products created a paint thickness gauge that stored measurements in a predetermined sequence and then transmitted the data via RS-232 to a computer with a program to create a vehicle condition report containing that data. This required carrying a computer in the field when measuring the paint thickness to create a report on multiple vehicles and was seldom employed in the field.
Pro Motorcar Products also created and sold an inexpensive paint thickness gauge model, the “Paint and Body Inspection Gauge” specifically for used car buyers.
Subsequently, Automation offered a coating thickness gauge that transmitted measurements wirelessly to a computer to produce a vehicle condition report. This required carrying a computer in the field when measuring the paint thickness to create a report on multiple vehicles and was seldom employed in the field.
Elcometer created a relatively inexpensive paint thickness gauge model for field measurements of vehicles, their “311” gauge.
A large number of U.S. and foreign patents on coating thickness gauges have been issued to Pfanstiehl and licensed to Pro Motorcar Products, issued to Elcometer, issued to Nix for Automation, and issued to Koch et al for Delfesko. Other than the above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,860, these coating thickness gauge patents do not disclose novel material on production of vehicle condition reports.
For this discussion, these companies will be termed the Measuring Instrument Industry. None of the companies in the Measuring Instrument Industry have created an efficient, economical system for measuring paint thickness, creating a data set for an individual vehicle, labeling the data set and transmitting the labeled data set to a remote computer. Producing and selling vehicle condition inspection gauges is a second very active industry with intense competition between the corporations involved.
Another business sector also serves the need for specific information on the condition and value of individual vehicles in the field. The companies in this sector provide products that enable a buyer to download and view information on a specific vehicle including CarFax reports, the vehicle value as listed by services such as NADA or Kelly Blue Book, or current selling prices at major auctions such as the Manheim Auctions. The following products help buyers with their need for vehicle condition information when they are inspecting the vehicle at an auction, at a car lot or other locations in the field.
The Laser Appraiser 2.0 is a hand held device with a laser bar code reader that can read the vehicle identification number, VIN, from a bar code on a vehicle and use that number to wirelessly order, receive and display a CarFax report on that specific vehicle, or order and display vehicle values or auction results for that make, model and year vehicle. The device can communicate with computers on the user's computer networks. Laser Appraiser additionally sells applications for smartphones to enable ordering and receiving the same information in the field.
The VIN Viper is another hand held device with phone and an integrated laser bar code reader that can read the VIN on a vehicle and use that number to wirelessly order, receive and display a CarFax report on that specific vehicle, or order and display vehicle values or auction results for that make, model and year vehicle.
Competitors also include AutoRev, Gigglepoop, VINHunter Pro, and AutoNiq, all of which are fee based services and which offer software programs that run on smartphones. VINHunter Pro uses the smartphone camera to capture and decode the vehicle's VIN.
For this discussion, these companies will be called the Vehicle Data Field Service Industry. Producing and selling services and devices to provide history, valuation and sales data to buyers in the field is a third very active industry with intense competition between the products and corporations involved.
Because the long felt need for objective information on the condition of the paint and body of individual used vehicles has not been met, millions of buyers travel to visually inspect vehicles. Each year, millions of vehicles are transported to auctions, stored until the auction, sold at the auction and then shipped to the buyer. The present invention discloses a novel method that reduces or eliminates the visual inspection step and thereby produces savings in transportation costs, storage costs, auction fees, vehicle depreciation due to days lost, and buyer travel expenses that amount to hundreds of millions of dollar per year.
In spite of active competition in the three major industries described above, a practical, efficient solution to gathering objective information on the condition of the paint and body of individual used vehicles in the field has eluded the many people and corporations in these large industries. The present invention discloses a novel method that satisfies this particular long felt need and furthermore satisfies the need for a practical, efficient and inexpensive solution to gathering objective information on the condition of other products.